


Ascent

by Dragonmad



Series: Falling [1]
Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-24
Updated: 2008-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-26 10:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/281973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonmad/pseuds/Dragonmad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens in those precious few minutes when Jack and Elizabeth make their escape? What happens to Will, and the ship on which he was stabbed? We're all about to find out.</p><p>Sequel to my fic Falling, which can be found Here. Apologies for the delay. The AWE dvd though, is quite inspiring! *G * Cross-posted to [info]turningpirate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ascent

**Author's Note:**

> "Speech from the past"  
> ~ speech by .....~ Will's speech/thoughts

****  
__

__

Thump.

  
Thump.

  
Thump-thump.

Thu-thump.

The steady beat seems inordinately loud in Will's ears, commanding all attention in the black nothingness he currently inhabits. He would be most content to stay there, in this dark abyss that confronts him now. The sound, however, refuses to be ignored.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

  
The echoing beat fills his head in resounding noise and rouses him from whatever place he had been before, urging him, prodding him, reminding him of some chore not yet done.

  
Will's eyes open slowly, and he is greeted by a surreal sight.

  
Blue nothingness.

  
It seems to him that he has traded one abyss for another, black for blue, dark for damp. He stares peacefully at the play of light on the water's surface, far above. The sun reaching faint fingers through the liquid, as if reaching out a hand to help, only to fall short a few meters under the surface.

He becomes aware that he is no longer falling deeper into the blue, but remains poised, buoyed by nothing. And it is then that Will realises he is breathing. He is breathing as if it were air that he was pulling into his lungs and not the harsh salt liquid that is the home of those at sea.

And he panics.

His sense of body and place returns in that instant and he flails wildly, his efforts ineffectual and uncoordinated as he floats on a pillow of nothing. And it is as he tries vainly to break from the unseen restraints that hold him in place that realisation is procured in the form of well-known voices, echoing from the past.  
 _  
“You have a touch o' destiny about you, William, Turner...”_

 _“The Dutchman must have a captain...”_

 _“Stab the heart...”_

  
The heart.

  
But. That would mean...

  
His heart.

  
That is his heart he hears!

  
So...

  
Is he dead then?

  
 _~No.~_ A soft feminine voice, made coarse from little use seems to echo through the deep. _~You are not dead. You are no longer of the earth, my captain, but neither are you of the sea. You are not of life, and not of death. You are of nothing and of everything...~  
_

Will has to swallow a sudden lump that forms in his throat, whether from fear, foreboding or something else, he doesn't know.

  
Unsure if he'll be able to form a sound, he opens him mouth to speak, only to hear distorted noise.

The voice chuckles at his antics. _~Not even you can talk under water.~_

  
Will huffs at the undisguised amusement in the tone and thinks irritably how he was supposed to know that and just how is he supposed to respond anyway?

 _~You just did.~  
_  
He blinks in surprise. Thoughts. That must be it. _You can hear my thoughts?_

 _~Yes.~_

Frowning Will tries to organise said thoughts into some semblance of order, sifting through the questions he is bursting to know answers too.

 _So... not to be rude, but who are you?  
_   
_~I think you mean what.~_

 _What?_

Amusement again. _~What, not who.~  
_  
 _...Okay...what are you?_

 _~I am a ship. I, like you, am neither alive, nor dead. I am both of this world, and one of the world's beyond. The name that was given to me is The Flying Dutchman.~  
_  
Will is gaping unashamedly, and it is only when the taste of salt water in his mouth becomes overbearing that he realises, belatedly to shut it.  
 _  
~Hmm, I know. Is rather a masculine name unfortunately. Pearl was lucky.~_

The former blacksmith-turned-pirate is quickly becoming accustomed to the feeling of shock. He is balancing precariously on the thin line between confusion and enlightenment, with no real sign as to which way he'll fall. The surreal nature of the event makes him strongly suspects the former somehow.

 _Pearl. You mean The Black Pearl?!_

 _~Yes. She is... somewhat of a sister I guess you could say. ... Maybe more of a distant cousin, now that I think on it. In any case, I have long known Pearl. Utterly charming, though somewhat feisty and mercurial at times...~  
_  
Will is somehow not at all surprised that the pirate ship should be so much like it's infamous captain in personality.  He then realises that this whole conversation is utterly strange and he really should be more concerned with the fact that he appears to be thousands of feet underwater. And still alive.

 _~ What is you name?~  
_  
Will blinks, surprised to be asked a question so...normal.

 _Will. Well, William Turner, but everyone calls me Will._

 _~ William. Hmmm, I do like that name. Well met, William Turner.”_

 _Errr...Hello._   
_  
~I take it you know something of your duty then.~_

 _Duty?_

 _~ As captain.~_

Somehow, even after all this time, the realisation never hit him. Captain. Well...huh. All the sailors curses and every expletive he's ever heard seems somehow pale and insufficient for this kind of situation.

 _So... I'm the one who's going to have to ferry dead people to the, well, land of the dead?_

 _~ With some help of course, but yes, you are essentially correct. However your duty is concerned only with those who die at sea.~  
_

Will tries to think of something intelligent and useful to say. He comes up blank however and therefore settles on one of the easier things to say.

  
 _Um, where exactly, are you?  
_   
_  
~Look down.~_

  
Will does, and only to be confused – once again. It seems to be a re-occurring theme in this environment. - when he sees nothing but the dark depths of the ocean. He swallows the feeling of vertigo and uneasiness such a feeling stirs in him and scans the area he can see in hopes of spotting something. It is then, that a shape slowly starts to appear out of the darkness, obscured for now, but quickly becoming clearer. The hulking mass of the _Dutchman_ comes quickly into view, debris trailing behind her like the flowing train of an expansive garment.

She ascends quickly now, until Will is able to distinguish small details he never noticed before and see  the unconscious forms of the crew members arrayed on the deck.

He swallows a thrill of fear on realising that she is not slowing, and that her course means that he shall be swept upon her. Or crushed. He really hopes it'll be the former.

And then, suddenly, there is the strange feeling of substantiality beneath his feet. The queer sensation and the speed on which he lands causes him to crumple to the deck, unsure of what to do now.

 _~ Welcome aboard, Captain Turner.~_

That just sounds too weird.

 _~ It is time for us to ascend back into reality William. A battle still awaits our coming.~  
_

  
They soar up, ever upwards until with an almighty roar of water and wind, they surface. And from the helm Will turns to assume his place as Captain of the _Flying Dutchman_. 

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~

The beginning.


End file.
